{"id":5480,"date":"2016-01-15T09:28:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T16:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=5480"},"modified":"2016-01-15T09:28:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T16:28:11","slug":"prayer-partisan-keynote-address-37th-annual-legislative-prayer-breakfast-otero-county-nm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=5480","title":{"rendered":"Prayer is not Partisan! (Keynote Address at the 37th Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast for Otero County, NM)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Legislative<\/a>Below is the text of the Keynote Address that I was honored to deliver at the 37th Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast for Otero County (NM) on Friday, January 15, 2016:<\/span><\/p>\n

Elected Officials. Honored Guests. Fellow Citizens. It is an honor tobe with you this morning at the 37th<\/sup> Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast.\u00a0When Chandell approached me several months ago about being the\u00a0keynote speaker at this year\u2019s event, I paused and took a deep breath,\u00a0knowing that if I said yes, that I would be making a significant\u00a0commitment. I told Chandell that I would be honored to do it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s that word again \u2013 HONOR.<\/strong> It\u2019s seemingly used all the time.\u00a0Just yesterday, someone was in my office talking to me about holding a\u00a0Mother\u2019s Day Tea at church to honor Mothers. She specifically wanted to\u00a0invite the Pastors\u2019 wives so that they could be honored, particularly in\u00a0light of trying to keep their husbands on the straight and narrow. I\u2019m not\u00a0sure that we can honor our wives enough, but that\u2019s a speech for another\u00a0day.<\/p>\n

What does \u201chonor\u201d mean in today\u2019s culture? Webster\u2019s defines it as:<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>a showing of usually\u00a0<\/em>merited<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>respect\u201d<\/em> or \u201c<\/em>a person of superior\u00a0<\/em>standing<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014now used especially as a title for a holder of high office, particularly judges and justices of the court.\u201d <\/em>Honor can also mean \u201cone whose worth brings respect or fame.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It is in this last definition that we come closest to the Biblical\u00a0definition of honor. It begins with the worth of the person. And,\u00a0in the case of God \u2013 to whom we are to give our ultimate honor and\u00a0allegiance \u2013 it is because of His infinite worth and beauty and power\u00a0and character \u2013 seen most clearly in and through the person of Jesus\u00a0Christ \u2013 that we are to show honor.<\/p>\n

However, honor does not stop with God. Honor actual begins\u00a0with God and extends to His creation, most especially to those who\u00a0bear His image — people. \u00a0In fact, the Bible calls us to honor\u00a0all kinds of people, in all kinds of situations. One of the most well-known statements of honoring is found in the Ten Commandments,\u00a0when God instructs the people of Israel to<\/p>\n

\u201chonor your father and\u00a0<\/em>mother,<\/em> that your days may be long in the land that the\u00a0Lord\u00a0your God is giving you.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

While we may not always do a perfect job at giving honor to our parents,\u00a0this command is certainly not seen as controversial.\u00a0However, it is to another set of folks that we are commanded to\u00a0honor that gives us fits, particularly in our 21st<\/sup> Century American culture.<\/p>\n

And, when I say \u201cus,\u201d<\/em> I mean Christians. Now at this point, I should\u00a0probably do what I sometimes do before a sermon on Sunday morning. I \u00a0warn folks that what I am about to say may step on your toes. That is\u00a0certainly not my intent. For you see, what I am about to say is intended for\u00a0me as much as it is for you. I hope that what I share is both a reminder and\u00a0an encouragement as we pray for the upcoming legislative session and as\u00a0we begin the campaign season in Presidential election year.<\/p>\n

So, what group of people who God calls us to honor do American\u00a0Christians have such a difficult time actually honoring? That would be\u00a0the very people who we are honoring and praying for this morning \u2013 our\u00a0elected officials. It\u2019s easy to come to a once-a-year Legislative Prayer\u00a0Breakfast and \u201chonor\u201d our government leaders. We eat a nice meal, we\u00a0catch up with people we haven\u2019t seen since last year\u2019s breakfast, and we\u00a0recognize elected officials.<\/p>\n

But, what happens when we leave here? How\u00a0well do we do at honoring those same elected leaders when they make a\u00a0decision at the Statehouse in Santa Fe or in the Town Hall of Alamogordo\u00a0that we disagree with? How quick are we to post on social media a\u00a0dishonoring and disrespectful comment about a local, state, or national\u00a0government official who we don\u2019t particularly like? All the while, we give\u00a0ourselves an excuse for the lack of honor because we don\u2019t agree with a\u00a0President\u2019s, a Governor\u2019s, or a Judge\u2019s decision.\u00a0After all, aren\u2019t we just supposed to give honor to those with whom we\u00a0agree, politically, religiously, or culturally?<\/p>\n

Of course, I think we all know the answer to that question, even if we\u00a0don\u2019t always put into practice the right answer. In our modern culture,\u00a0particularly within the political arena, we are a nation that is becoming\u00a0more and more divided. That division has seeped into our spiritual life and \u00a0affected how believers interact with a government that is increasingly\u00a0hostile to the public display of the Christian faith. And, instead of doing\u00a0what we are commanded to do \u2013 which is to honor our government\u00a0officials \u2013 we begin, like lawyers (sorry, I had couldn\u2019t resist), to carve out\u00a0exceptions to the rule. Except, God has not given us exceptions when it\u00a0comes to honoring those whom He has called us to honor. We don\u2019t get to\u00a0pick and choose \u2013 based upon political ideology or party affiliation \u2013\u00a0whom we honor or don\u2019t honor. That is simply not up to us.<\/p>\n

Does that mean it is easy to do what the Apostle Peter calls us to do\u00a0when he writes in 1 Peter 2:17 \u2013 \u201cHonor everyone.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Love the brotherhood.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Fear\u00a0<\/em>God. Honor the emperor.\u201d<\/em><\/span> Absolutely not! I don\u2019t imagine that it was easy for\u00a0the church to receive Peter\u2019s letter, instructing them to not only \u201chonor\u00a0everyone,\u201d<\/em> but to also honor the Roman Emperor. It must have been\u00a0almost impossible for them to put into practice the actual honoring of a\u00a0leader who was violently mistreating Christians at the time.<\/p>\n

How then could the church in the 1st<\/sup> Century and how now can the\u00a0church in the 21st<\/sup> Century \u201chonor everyone,\u201d<\/em> particularly all of our\u00a0government officials, from those who hold local offices to the person,\u00a0regardless of party, who holds the highest office in the land? Glad you\u00a0asked.<\/p>\n

From my own experience, I can tell you that it will be difficult, if not\u00a0impossible, to honor someone, including our elected officials, if we do not\u00a0take the time to pray for them. And, not just once-a-year at the Legislative\u00a0Prayer Breakfast. We need to pray for our government leaders all the time,\u00a0not just because it will help us to honor them, but because God has also\u00a0commanded that we pray for people \u2013 all people. The Apostle Paul, writing\u00a0to Timothy, the Pastor of the Church at Ephesus, told him:<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions of authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is it commanded, not only does give us a practical way to\u00a0honor everyone, up to and including the highest government official in the\u00a0land, but praying in such a way is both good and pleasing in the sight of\u00a0God our Savior. Even when it is difficult \u2013 and obedience is not always\u00a0easy \u2013 we should want to do that which pleases our heavenly Father. Even\u00a0when the person we should be praying for is someone who we would not\u00a0naturally feel inclined to pray for, we should nevertheless pray. It takes\u00a0commitment and it takes practice. For me, I have had some wonderful\u00a0lessons in praying for government officials and leaders who I would\u00a0otherwise not feel led to pray for.<\/p>\n

Fourteen years ago this week, my family\u00a0of four (my youngest Andrew was not yet born) began packing up our\u00a0home in the Kissimmee, Florida area as we prepared for my first full-time\u00a0senior pastorate at Grundy Baptist Church in Grundy, Virginia. One of the\u00a0reasons that we felt called to this small town in the Appalachian Mountains,\u00a0located in the far southwest corner of Virginia \u2013 on the border of Kentucky\u00a0and West Virginia \u2013 was that the church was located next to \u2013 in fact,\u00a0shared a parking lot with \u2013 Virginia\u2019s newest law school, the Appalachian\u00a0School of Law. Wow! Former lawyer turned pastor serving at a church\u00a0located next to a law school. God certainly does have a sense of humor.\u00a0Or, so we thought.<\/p>\n

While we were packing boxes, I got a call from a church member at\u00a0our church in Kissimmee who used to live in Virginia. She asked if I\u2019d\u00a0heard what had happened at the law school in Grundy. With no television\u00a0or radio to listen to, I told Miss Edna that I was unaware of what was going.\u00a0Earlier that day \u2013 fourteen years ago tomorrow on January 16, 2002 \u2013 a\u00a0<\/span>disgruntled former student went into the law school where he shot and\u00a0killed the Dean, a Professor, and a student and wounded three other\u00a0students before being subdued by fellow students. A memorial, complete\u00a0with national news coverage, was held at \u00a0Grundy Baptist Church, where I\u00a0would be starting my first day in the office on Martin Luther King Day in\u00a02002, just five days after the shooting.<\/p>\n

From the moment we rolled into Grundy until the moment that we left\u00a0and headed west to Alamogordo and the Land of Enchantment 8 \u00bd years\u00a0ago, I learned many \u00a0valuable lessons, most of which they do not teach\u00a0you in seminary. How to help a community deal with a horrific and violent\u00a0tragedy? How to help people struggling financially in the midst of a severe\u00a0economic downturn, in our case the coal industry? And, how to pastor a\u00a0church where the majority of members identified with a political party that\u00a0was different from the one I generally identified with?<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m still not sure if the first two lessons are ever fully learned, I\u00a0believe that the time spent in southwest Virginia has allowed me to learn\u00a0how to be a non-partisan pastor in a very partisan culture. Now, to be non-\u00a0partisan does not mean that pastors or churches have to avoid speaking\u00a0the truth on the pressing moral and Biblical issues of the day. In fact, we\u00a0must have the freedom to speak the truth in love and that freedom, at the\u00a0end of the day, is a God-given gift that cannot be taken away by any\u00a0government at any time for any reason!<\/p>\n

I still remember the time that Jay Rife, a leader in our church in\u00a0Grundy, asked me to give the invocation at an event sponsored by the\u00a0county political party that he was also chairman of. I\u2019m quite sure that he\u00a0knew that this was not the political party that I normally identified with,\u00a0particularly after my then five year old son, Stephen, burst into the\u00a0Fellowship Hall on the Sunday after the 2004 Presidential elections to\u00a0announce who his daddy had voted for.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Jay saw it as a\u00a0honor to have his own pastor pray at this event \u00a0and I saw it as an\u00a0opportunity to pray for government officials and to show honor to those in\u00a0positions of high authority. Prayer, even at a political event, should\u00a0still be non-partisan. That\u2019s why I did not pray for winners or\u00a0losers or the triumph of political parties or ideologies.\u00a0I prayed for the safety of the government leaders and candidates as they traveled across the Commonwealth. I\u00a0prayed that God would give the leaders wisdom from above that, as the\u00a0book of James in the New Testament describes, is<\/p>\n

\u201cpure, then<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>peaceable,\u00a0<\/em>gentle, open to reason,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>full of mercy and good fruits,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>impartial and<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>sincere.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0prayed that God would guide and direct the government leaders in\u00a0discharging their responsibilities in office. <\/em>I prayed that the elected\u00a0officials would make decisions that would be pleasing to God. And, above\u00a0all, I prayed that everything that was said and done would bring honor and\u00a0glory to God. After I prayed, I left. I was not there for a partisan political\u00a0rally, but rather to offer Biblical prayer.<\/p>\n

Whether at a annual legislative prayer breakfast or throughout the\u00a0year, we are called to offer our prayers for all of our elected Senators and\u00a0Representatives as they head to Santa Fe. We are called to offer our\u00a0prayers for all those in positions of higher authority. Whether we agree\u00a0with them or not. Whether we share the same party affiliation or political\u00a0ideology. We pray for your safety in traveling across the Land of\u00a0Enchantment. We pray that God would grant you heavenly wisdom as you\u00a0make difficult decisions that will affect the citizens of this great state and\u00a0that He will guide you as you carry out your official duties. We pray\u00a0ultimately that God would receive honor and glory in all that you do and\u00a0say as you represent the people of New Mexico in Santa Fe this legislative\u00a0session.<\/p>\n

As we leave here this morning, let us always remember\u00a0that prayer must always be non-partisan. Prayer is not Republican or\u00a0Democrat. It is not liberal or conservative. Prayer is Biblical. And, through\u00a0our prayers, we honor those whom God has placed in high positions of\u00a0authority over us and, we ultimately honor God Himself, who is\u00a0worthy of all of our honor, love and devotion.<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for allowing me the great honor of speaking with\u00a0you this morning. May God bless our wonderful community and great\u00a0state and may God continue to bless the land of the free and the home of\u00a0the brave, the United States of America! God bless you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is the text of the Keynote Address that I was honored to deliver at the 37th Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast for Otero County (NM) on Friday, January 15, 2016: Elected Officials. Honored Guests. Fellow Citizens. It is an honor tobe with you this morning at the 37th Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast.\u00a0When Chandell approached me…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,18,19,21,22,30,34,35,39],"tags":[97,3234,138,301,2717,465,1494,3230,3231,3233,3229,3391,2672,3232,2956],"class_list":["post-5480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-freedom-of-religion","category-freedom-of-speech","category-freedoms","category-government","category-law","category-politics","category-religion","category-theology","tag-appalachian-school-of-law","tag-appalachian-school-of-law-shooting","tag-bethel-baptist-church","tag-democrat","tag-government-2","tag-grundy-baptist-church","tag-grundy-virginia","tag-honor","tag-honoring-leaders","tag-jay-rife","tag-legislative-prayer-breakfast","tag-politics","tag-prayer","tag-praying-for-elected-officials","tag-republican"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LP7G-1qo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5480"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5487,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5480\/revisions\/5487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}